Ever since Tokyo won the bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, tourism in Japan took a new turn. As a matter of fact, an average of 19.7 million people paid a visit to the country in 2015, spending a lot of time in the amazing capital city, Tokyo.
This is not surprising, as Tokyo in 2013 landed a big reputation of becoming the most satisfying city in the world for tourism. This poll was carried out by TripAdvisor.com and the popularity of Japan has kept growing ever since, making it one of the best places to visit for your vacation.
Apparently, adding Japan to your travel list will most definitely be an awesome idea, considering the fact that there are a ton of reasons why you should be there.
Even though it’s clear that Japan has one of the most advanced economies in the world with a lot of cutting-edge technologies, it still doesn’t waver the fact that the country offers quite a lot of ancient perspective and rich cultural background to its visitors. This is something we don't see that much in the western world.
Thus, Japan is a place for everyone that loves adventure and wants to break the norm sometimes, to explore all that life has to offer. Also, you will enjoy the sweet smell and beauty of nature with its natural landscapes alongside nature’s beautiful sceneries that give you that fresh feeling you always want to have. But can’t you get all this in China? Well, not really.
That’s why in this article, we will be sharing with you 20 reasons that make almost every tourist today visit Japan over China. So hang in here.
20 Japan Has the World’s Largest Fish Market
Judging from the fact that Japan has a fondness for seafood, it’s no surprise that they have the largest fish market in the world. The fish market is located in Tokyo – in case you decide to see things for yourself.
The fish market is big enough for all its customers that visit on a regular basis and they never run out of supply. This is due to the fact that they handle over 2,000 tons of seafood every day.
This is where auctioneers, fishermen, and buyers for Tokyo’s best restaurants come to when they need seafood supplies. You can take advantage of this and treat yourself to the freshest sushi and the most mouthwatering grilled fish lunches at affordable prices.
19 Enjoy the Delicious Taste of Monjayaki
If you have a filled day treating yourself to some tempura, soba, sushi, and ramen, you can perhaps try something different.
What exactly? “Monjayaki.”
Yes, it may seem a bit complex for you to pronounce but you’d enjoy every bit of it.
This dish is not the most attractive, visually, but it is bound to make your taste buds burst with a mix of sweet tastes. This pancake-like dish basically combines flour-and-dashi, a cabbage base, alongside toppings of your choice ranging from pork which are popular choices, squid, and shrimp. All that served together makes you stay in Japan just a little longer to enjoy more of this meal.
18 There’s a Ton of Youth Fashion Stores
If you’re youthful and you like your dressing to depict that, then Japan is the place for you. They have numerous independent fashion boutiques where you can find what you like and what you didn’t know you liked.
These fashion stores have quality and crazy forms of youth fashion that would interest you a great deal as long as you love clothes.
If you’re by any chance in Japan, locating the world’s largest fashion district is quite easy. All you have to do is get to Shibuya and count adjacent to Omotesando, and Aoyama. You’d be fascinated by the number of major designer brands you’d find.
17 Cool Off at an Onsen
Onsen is a word that the Japanese use to refer to public bathhouses that use water from natural hot springs. These Onsens in Tokyo are surprisingly numerous, hence, they can be found just about anywhere.
You shouldn’t be surprised though because Japan is a volcanically active country. In case you want to try it out, you can choose from traditional public bathhouses to large complexes which boast an array of amenities.
If you want more, then you need to visit the Oedo-Onsen Monogatari. This is a very big Japanese-style onsen that features dining options, hot spring pools, saunas, and accommodation.
16 You Can Have Some Fun with Cute Critters
In the early 2000s, Tokyo came up with the idea of having cat cafes. This idea became something that people enjoyed. This led to the popularity of having snacks in the company of cute animals.
Presently Tokyo has so many animal cafes ranging from dog cafes, rabbit cafes, bird cafes, to hedgehog cafes.
You can thus have almost anything you want in Tokyo in the company of a cute critter you prefer. All you need to do is to research for the right place. The research will give you information on venues where they prioritize animal welfare and you can take it up from there.
15 Hang Out at Tokyo's Disney Land
When you visit Tokyo’s Disney land, you’d experience nothing short of a magical experience because they have things like Pirates of the Caribbean, space mountain, big thunder mountain, just to mention a few.
Tokyo’s Disney land keeps you busy from start to finish with attractions like monster’s Inc. and Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. For this, you just have to get a FastPass for monster’s Inc. at rope drop, then proceed to Pooh’s Hunny Hunt and get in the standby line.
You can also be entertained with a daily show called “Minnie oh!” The show takes place in Adventureland. The show features vibrant colors, happy Latin music, live singing, and Minnie Mouse the star shows up alongside other appearances like Donald.
Just know you can’t get it all done in one day if you must enjoy everything here.
14 Japan Is Super Clean
If you’re the type that highly values hygiene, you would definitely love Japan because of its outstanding hygiene and squeaky cleanliness.
When you take a tour down the roads, you’d hardly find garbage at the roadsides. This doesn’t exclude their public transport system like the train because it’s usually neat and in perfect order as well.
Their hygiene also extends to their trees, hence, you can hardly find leaves littered indiscriminately on the roads.
They also ensure that the trees are well trimmed to shape. One thing you would definitely take home from Japan is their extreme attention to detail.
13 There Is a Ton of 24 Hours Convenience Stores, with at Least One near You
It’s not all countries that have 24 hours’ convenience stores, littered in so many places like Japan has. These stores are literally everywhere in Tokyo, and each of them is located within 3 to 4 blocks away from you.
If you forgot to shop for some things during the day and then you remember pretty late, there’s nothing to worry about while in this beautiful city. Just strolling a few blocks from your hotel room will land you into some mega-convenience store.
It’s also your one-stop-shop store. This means that you can get anything you want to buy even if you’re hungry and you need a fast food. They sell things like sushi, hot drinks, and hot buns.
12 It’s A Country with A Low Crime Rate
Going out late in Japan is not a problem because it’s one of the safest countries in the world. It’s also the safest country in Asia. In 2014, the Organization of Economic Cooperation gave a report that only about 1.4% of the entire population had been victims of assault.
Another beautiful thing is the country’s low crime rate has been decreasing over time. This was shown when the OEC released the figures and compared it with the OECD average for annual mugging and assault rates.
When the overall results were out, Japan was second with the lowest homicide rate after Iceland.
11 There Are Many Beautiful National Parks Open to Tourists
Japan has so many National Parks that attract tourist every year. This country boasts of up to 31 national parks and each of them is fully protected. Some of the national parks house beautiful natural sceneries such as beaches, forests, volcanoes etc.
Each of the national parks in Japan is scattered across the country. This, in turn, provides tourists or visitors with so many activities to enjoy all over Japan like visiting hot springs, hiking, boating, fishing, and diving. Hence, if you love to explore, Japan is a good option to start with.
10 Enjoy the Best of Street Food
If you're someone who loves to try new things, especially when it comes to your taste buds, then you might just enjoy the street food in Japan. No doubt, the street food scene is something you can't miss when you visit Tokyo as a Tourist.
There are all kinds of delicious treats ranging from skewered chicken, seafood, deep-fried delights, and many more.
Thus, you can start your day with the yakitori (Skewered chicken bits) alongside the takoyaki (octopus-filled dough-based balls) or better still have some nice hot onigiri (rice balls) and tamagoyaki (rolled omelet).
If you have got a sweet tooth you'd definitely love to have the Taiyaki (fish-shaped biscuits coated with chocolate or custard cream) or the matcha soft serve ice-cream flavor that has a lot of sweet crepes, fruit, and jelly.
9 You can attend a Sumo tournament
By attending a sumo or the Basho (as it’s called in Japan) tournament in Japan, you’d be getting a feel of the country’s official national sports.
The sumo wrestling competition in Tokyo usually lasts for 15 days and it’s held in major event centers in the big city. This event is always slated for three different times in the year – January, May, and September.
You can buy tickets beforehand via an official sumo vendor to secure the perfect seat you desire. Also, if you’re a tourist, you can watch the wrestlers while they train, but you have to be as silent as you can be. These huge men require lots of concentration to perfect their art.
8 You’d enjoy the Taste of One of the World’s Best Cocktails
If you have got a great love for cocktails, then you will obviously love Japan. This is because, in Tokyo, the locals are cocktail-crazy to the point that the bartenders approach “the subject of cocktailing” with the skill and application of their Michelin-starred commis chef.
You can find a skilled wine mixologist in almost every wine bar. They get high-quality and garden-fresh ingredients from across the country to make their cocktails have an amazing and awesome taste.
They harvest the delicious passion fruits from the county side in Okinawa, or better still get the best kumquats, which are sweet, from Miyazaki to deliver a classic Japanese twist.
7 Watch the Rockabilly Dancers at Yoyogi Park
Almost every Sunday afternoon at the Harajuku entrance of the Yoyogi Park, something spectacular and interesting happens. You will get a good feel of the 1950s rock'n'roll genre of music from some of the most passionate dancers in the world. Trust me when I say you will love the sound as long as you’re a fan of good music.
Wait till you hear the interesting part. First, you will find locals rocking the perfect outfits looking all “rockabilly.” As if it’s not enough, they grease their hair all back with a certain “Brylcream,” giving them an absolute rock’n’roll look.
Thus, they dance to music with a large number of crowds, especially tourists watching them. There’s one thing you don’t want to forget in your hotel room when you come here - “your camera!”
6 Take a Visit to the Imperial Palace
In Tokyo, the Imperial Palace inhabits the place where the palace of the Tokugawa shoguns resided during the era of the Edo. This beautiful palace is encircled by neatly preserved gardens and parks. Thus, the surroundings of the Palace have a heavenly look and feel, making it a place you can’t forget easily but rather, live to remember.
Even though tourists are not able to enter most parts of the palatial compound, you’d still enjoy the awesome walks around the surroundings. There are also guided tours, organized in the English language, for free.
The tours are coordinated by the agency in the Imperial Palace, thus, they engage in both morning and afternoon sessions from Tuesday to Saturdays.
5 Cross the Shibuya Crossing
The Shibuya Crossing is apparently the busiest intersection in the world. This colossal crossing could be hectic as it comes. You will see hundreds of people walk right, left and even center when the lights flash green, transiting on a task to arrive at one side of their choice.
At the time of crossing, you may likely see a lot of tourists around trying to get that best snapshot which they can post on their twitter or Facebook DPs or even Instagram hashtags.
The beautiful thing about Shibuya is that you can be there crossing at any time of the day. As a matter of fact, moving by the Shibuya crossing at night gives an even more awesome look, because of the flashing lights from the billboards.
4 The Home to One of the Best Fashion Chains in the World
In Japan, big fashion chains that cut across the world also exist. You’d see premium Japanese choice shops such as United Arrows, Ships, Tomorrowland, and Beams. These fashion chains have grown to become reputable fashion names both in Asia and the world at large.
Because of their expert curating of the world's best indie fashion brands, many of them rose to stardom.
Nowadays, these Japanese clothing brands offer top-quality Japanese-made wears that move with the latest urban trends, plus you can get them at unbeatable prices.
Thus, you can be sure that you won’t be disappointed if you’re visiting for the first time.
3 There Are Large Electronics Stores That Have Everything Electronics You Need
The average Japanese has a great love for electronics, gadgets and contemporary home appliances. No wonder, most of our home appliances come from them. However, their passion for electronics, gadgets and contemporary appliances has been strapped into Yodobashi Akiba.
Yodobashi Akiba is the biggest electronics store in Tokyo with 6 massive floors housing all electronics you can ever think of – considering the fact that it’s the renowned city for anime culture, video games, and the center of gadgets.
What that simply means is that you can never be disappointed in finding the electronics, gadget or appliances you need.
2 See The World’s Tallest Tower
The Tokyo’s Skytree is truly a “tree in the sky.” When it was under construction, the Japanese officials in charge of the project discovered that the TV and Sightseeing Tower in Guangzhou was 610 meters tall, so they decided to up theirs to an additional 24 meters to hold the record as the world’s tallest tower.
The Skytree is open for business, taking the Guinness record for the tallest tower in the world. This tower has a ton of restaurants, shops, and offices, inhabited by it. It also has a deck so high that you can almost see Guangzhou clearly from there.
However, if you are scared of heights, it’s not advisable you venture onto this quest.
1 Halloween is Super Awesome
It appears that the Americans are not the only ones that know how to enjoy the Halloween. The Japanese people have a big craze for Halloween too. As matter of fact, they love to wear costumes of their favorite anime characters and video game characters like the legendary “Super Mario.”
During the Halloween in Japan, you’d find young kids and adults wearing state-of-the-art weird costumes like a girly waitress that will serve you hot tea in a café, to people wearing costumes of the kitsch. After all, there is never anytime to look like this except on Halloweens.